Chapter 399 Avoiding Homework

The Empress also felt embarrassed, as she had heard that Daiyu was frail and sickly as a child.

I heard that Mr. Yuan went to great lengths to gradually restore her health. It would be a real shame if she fell ill after only a few days with me.

Despite having the best food on the boat throughout the journey, Daiyu didn't enjoy her meal at all.

It's only been a few days, but her face doesn't look as radiant as before.

Actually, the Empress was overthinking it. No matter how comfortable the journey was, it was still not as good as being at home.

Although Daiyu didn't like the food at the Empress's place, she would eat other things she liked after returning home, so she didn't lose weight.

On the contrary, she initially found the scenery interesting because she was always looking at the mountains and rivers. However, being with the Empress made Daiyu feel somewhat restrained, unlike when she was with Yuan Hongqu.

Fortunately, the Empress noticed this situation in time. These past few days, Daiyu has been eating at Yuan Hongqu's place, and only comes to the Empress's place after the meal when she reaches the ferry crossing.

If there was an emergency, a boat would be sent to fetch Daiyu, but such situations were extremely rare.

Yuan Hongqu also forbade Daiyu to travel by boat alone; she would definitely come along.

Daiyu enjoyed a delicious lunch on the boat near the girls' academy, strolled around the deck a few times to digest, and then went to the cabin for a nap.

While Yuan Hongqu was reading a book, Daiyu naturally felt more comfortable sleeping in her spatial dimension.

Not long after she woke up, she discussed with her classmates their feelings about the scenery along the way, and soon it was evening.

She had just finished dinner with her classmates when she went to the Queen's ship again.

If she were alone with the southern tour group, it wouldn't have been so bad, but the classmates at the academy and the food at Mr. Yuan's place were so delicious and tempting to her.

This made Daiyu feel that her long-awaited trip to the south was about to become an ordeal.

However, since she was responsible for recording, she was supposed to go to the Empress's place, so Daiyu went there with a gloomy face.

But as soon as she got on the ship, she immediately composed herself, putting away her casual and relaxed demeanor and adopting a serious and dignified lady-like posture.

Tonight we arrived at a large ferry crossing, which was bustling with activity and traffic, several times larger than the other ferry crossings we had seen along the way.

However, this is not their destination, and the Emperor and Empress will not disembark.

All the local officials were waiting on the shore for the emperor's summons, and they were also presented with local specialties.

These are genuine local specialties. Every item that is loaded onto the ship is inspected and checked by a designated person. If the price exceeds a certain limit, it will be returned on the spot and recorded. This will also be noted in this year's evaluation.

In addition, the Imperial Household Department would send special personnel to the shore to purchase local specialty products, since only some officials had come with the southern tour, while the rest were still working diligently in the capital!

These things, once the Emperor returns to the palace, will be distributed as rewards, which will be more popular than giving gold and silver. This shows that even while the Emperor is away, he hasn't forgotten his ministers!

As Yuan Hongqu would say, don't underestimate the small-mindedness; it's about getting big results with little money!

The emperor's private treasury money doesn't come from thin air, so he should save money wherever possible.

The Emperor agreed wholeheartedly, so he readily consented to it!

The Empress met with several noblewomen and, fearing that Daiyu would find their conversation boring, allowed her to take her entourage out for some fun.

Daiyu asked someone for a fishing rod and fished on the other side of the boat to relieve her boredom.

In stark contrast to the bustling scene on the other side, this side faces an endless expanse of water.

Small patrol boats came and went near the boat, but this did not affect Daiyu's fishing at all.

Although she couldn't see the water surface or whether the float was moving, she just wanted to kill time; fishing was really just an excuse.

She didn't even touch the fishing rod, so what kind of fish was she trying to catch?

Lan Su hid nearby, took a bag of dried meat, and chewed on it herself.

On the other side, Zijuan and Xueyan were still discussing in hushed tones what clothes and jewelry to dress Daiyu in for tomorrow.

Although we can talk about these things when we get back, we're just idling around anyway, so we should find something to say.

Daiyu also felt bored, but she didn't want to go back to the cabin at the moment, so she stared at the water, her consciousness already entering the space.

The old woman forbade her from reading for too long on the boat, saying that although her health was much better than before, she should try not to read for too long while traveling by car or boat, as it would easily make her dizzy.

Daiyu was very obedient, so instead of reading on the boat, she went to her spatial dimension.

She had brought a lot of books she wanted to read with her and put them in her space, so now she had plenty of time to read them at her leisure.

“Princess Jiangzhu has quite the refined taste. The fish almost snatched the fishing rod away, yet she remained unmoved.”

Upon hearing the voice, Daiyu snapped back to reality.

But then she saw a boy standing beside her, pulling her fishing rod upwards.

"Has the fish taken the bait?" Daiyu asked excitedly.

"You're lucky, this bass is quite plump!" The boy yanked the fishing line and skillfully removed the hook from the fish's mouth.

"It's really quite big!" Daiyu exclaimed, looking at the perch that was over a foot long.

Meanwhile, Zijuan and Xueyan came forward and took the bass from the boy's hand.

Lan Su remained standing to the side, making no move.

"You're just a little girl fishing here, aren't you afraid a big fish will bite and drag you into the water!" The boy wiped his hands, deliberately trying to scare Daiyu.

"What big fish could possibly be in this water? Even if there were, could it escape the eyes of the Imperial Guards? They would have caught it and skinned it long ago!" Daiyu laughed, showing no fear whatsoever.

The boy laughed too.

"You really have a big heart. No wonder my sister-in-law insisted that you be on her boat. She said she gets seasick, but seeing you makes her feel at ease."

I was so focused on watching the fish that I didn't even notice who this person was.

As soon as the boy said this, Daiyu looked closely. Although it was night, lanterns were hung everywhere on the boat, and there were almost no dark corners, so she could see the boy clearly.

"Tenth Prince," Daiyu bowed slightly, "Weren't you feasting with the Emperor? What brings you here?"

"Just bored!" the Tenth Prince said casually, casually tearing off a piece of bait from the side, rolling it on the hook, and then casting the fishing rod down.

His involvement with the southern inspection team was exposed on the spot by Yuan Hongqu, who then sent him to the emperor's ship.

Little did he know that he would encounter his group of teachers somewhere.

The Tenth Prince had only run away to avoid his studies, but he never expected to escape directly into someone else's grasp.